The Old New Thing

The dead desktop computer: From good, bad, and ugly back to dead

When last we left my dead desktop computer, it had returned to the world of the living with the assistance of the onboard video adapter. The screen was fuzzy because I was running my LCD monitor through the analog VGA cable. Performing an auto-adjust helped a little but it was still blurry. Still, it was within the realm of acceptability for...

The Big Red Switch really was big and red

In this article on compatibility between the .NET Framework versions 1.1 and 2.0, there is a passing mention of a setting nicknamed the "Big Red Switch". The power switch on the original IBM PC really was big and red. Well, orange-red. Here's a picture of the power switch on an IBM PC-AT. Decide for yourself what color it is. In ...

In Lisbon, walk/don't walk signs are mostly decorative

In Lisbon, walk/don't walk signs are mostly decorative. The real rule for crossing the street is look both ways and cross when safe. There's no requirement that you use a designated crosswalk. As long as the coast is clear, you can cross the street anywhere. When my host for the conference accompanied me to the conference center, we crossed ...

How do I flash my window caption and taskbar button manually?

Commenter Jonathan Scheepers wonders about those programs that flash their taskbar button indefinitely, overriding the default flash count set by . The function and its simpler precursor let a program flash its window caption and taskbar button manually. The window manager flashes the caption automatically (and Explorer follows the ...

Mother's Day is for all mothers, not just your own mother

This upcoming Sunday is Mother's Day in the United States, and I'm reminded of a little story from several years ago. One day, we asked a colleague how he and his new child were planning to celebrate Mother's Day. "Yup, I'm all over that. I mailed a gift to my mother earlier this week, and I'll call her on Sunday." — Um, aren't you ...

Data breakpoints are based on the linear address, not the physical address

When you ask the debugger to set a read or write breakpoint, the breakpoint fires only if the address is read from or written to by the address you specify. If the memory is mapped to another address and modified at that other address, then your breakpoint won't see it. For example, if you have multiple views on the same data, then ...

The economics of soccer penalty kicks

I'm fascinated by economics, specifically the application of economic theories to things you wouldn't normally consider as economics. Back during the World Cup, Slate's undercover economist column took a look at the economics of penalty kicks. Steven D. Levitt, co-author of another paper on the subject, writes in more detail on the ...

Gentle reminder: On a dialog box, do not give OK and Cancel accelerators

I know most of you know this, but I'm going to say it for the record. When you have a dialog box with an OK and/or Cancel button, do not give the keys accelerators. In other words, simply write The dialog manager already has those buttons covered. The hotkey for the OK button is Enter (since it is the default pushbutton), and the hotkey ...

The new dietary restriction landscape

Non appetit, the modern quandary of preparing a dinner for people who all have different types of dietary restrictions. Depending on whom I invite to dinner, I may have to put together a meal that conforms to one or more of the following restrictions: low-fat, pescetarian, vegetarian, nondairy, non-pork, non-beef. (Yes, many of these ...